IndiGo, which was at the centre of a meltdown earlier this week, is being asked tough questions, including about the airline’s management inefficiency. The airline, as you all must know, saw 1000s of flights cancelled from December 2 through 5, 2025, with some sense of recovery and control returning amid the chaos on December 6, 2025. It has been estimated that 7.78 lakh passengers and 5,000 flights were affected in the meltdown.
IndiGo’s CEO and COO served with Show Cause Notices from the regulator
IndiGo, last evening, received show cause notices in the name of the CEO and the Accountable Manager (the COO) of the airline. The notice served to Pieter Elbers, the CEO, reads as follows,
Whereas it has been observed that scheduled flights of M/s Indigo Airlines have recently faced massive disruptions resulting in severe inconvenience, hardship and distress to passengers;
Whereas it has also been noticed that the primary cause of said flight disruptions is non-provisioning of adequate arrangements to cater to the revised requirements for smooth implementation of the approved FDTL scheme for the airline;
Whereas such large-scale operational failures indicate significant lapses in planning, oversight, and resource management, and is prima facie non-compliance on the part of the airline with the provisions of Rule 42A of the Aircraft Rules, 1937 and the provisions of CAR Section 7, Series J, Part Ill Issue III (Rev. 2) on Duty Period, Flight Duty Period, Flight Time Limitations and Prescribed Rest Periods – Flight crew Engaged in Scheduled Air Transport Operations;
Whereas the airline has failed to provide requisite information and facilities to their passengers as stipulated under para 3 of CAR Section 3, Series M, Part IV, issue 1 on Facilities to be provided to passengers by airlines due to denied boarding, cancellation of flights and delays in flights;
The notice places directly on his feet the responsibility for the airline’s smooth operations, which is how it should be.
As the CEO, you are responsible for ensuring effective management of the airlines but you have failed in your duty to ensure timely arrangements for conduct of reliable operations and the availability of requisite facilities to the passengers;
DGCA has asked him to explain within 24 hours why action should not be taken against him under the prevailing rules of civil aviation in India. If he does not respond, the matter will be decided by the regulator without taking his side into account. That timeline ends at about 8 PM today.
A similar notice went out to the “Accountable Manager” of the airline, who basically is the COO of the airline, in this case, Isidre Porqueras.
It has been reported in the news media that the Prime Minister’s Office is now monitoring IndiGo’s meltdown, and hard questions are being asked to fix the issues at hand and to hold accountable those responsible for the lapse. The airline clearly “misjudged” the number of pilots it needed, or pushed the envelope on hiring, and eventually, the issue has blown up far more than they bargained for.
Bottomline
IndiGo has received notices for its CEO and COO to explain why IndiGo did not provide enough human resources, and why it did not give the standard of care to affected passengers. Also, IndiGo has been told to process all refunds and return all missing bags, and there are deadlines for both. Whether this is enough, or more needs to be done, time will tell, but something tells me that the whole issue is not closed, and a lot more punishment and penance are on their way for the airline.
What do you think of the steps taken so far?
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When I compare the harassment of the DGCA against IndiGo (whose mistakes caused unacceptable delays in flights and baggage distribution, but fortunately no victims) and in the case of the Air India crash (261 victims), I have the impression of a double standard. In the case of Air India (the company with countless aircraft deliveries), there was no action against the officials, even for the most shocking facts. For the local authorities: no immediate closure of the crash site – civilians could walk freely there -, debris being bulldozed out before the investigation. For the DGCA: lack of transparency (the Airline Pilots’ Association of India said it was “surprised at the secrecy surrounding these investigations” and that “suitably qualified personnel were not taken on board for the probe”), censorship (on 17 July, the AAIB released an appeal discouraging (!!) speculation from the public and the media), very questionable report (some aviation specialists describe it as “misleading”, very doubtful conspiracy theory of pilot’s suicide obviously adopted under pressure from the US), maintenance issues at Air India, etc.
In the case of IndiGo, the Indian media did not give us the exact explanations of the CEO : did the DGCA really studied if 1 1/2 year was enough to implement the new rules ? And what did the DGCA do during this time ? Just waiting without controls til the catastrophy ? In my opinion, the DGCA is as responsible as IndiGo.
Of course I accept all the critics against my point of view. Most important things is to avoid other catastrophies (crashes or delays) in the future.